We appreciate, as always, those
who play the instruments. What a blessing it is to be able
to sing with the music that they provide for us. If you will,
let's open our Bibles today to Matthew chapter 4. Going to be looking today at
what is commonly referred to as the temptation of Jesus. Matthew chapter 4, the first
11 verses. Then was Jesus led up of the
spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And
when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterward and
hungered. And when the tempter came to
him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these
stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It
is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil
taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle
of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God,
cast thyself down, for it is written, he shall give his angels
charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee
up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus
said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the
Lord thy God. Again the devil taketh him up
into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms
of the world, and the glory of them. And saith unto him, All
these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship
me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get
thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth
him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. So many lessons for us from this
passage of Scripture. And I trust that God will enable
us to profit from reading and studying today. Now at the very
beginning, I want to remind us that in the Bible, in the Scriptures,
The word tempt or temptation may be used in a good sense as
well as in a bad sense. The Lord was tempted in the same
way that we read in Genesis chapter 22-1 that God did tempt Abraham. When the word tempt or temptation
is used in a good sense, we would better understand it as the word
testing. Testing. But when it is used
in a bad sense, then we would understand it as the solicitation
to evil. Hear what the Apostle James writes
in his epistle. Let no man say when he is tempted,
that is solicit to evil, I am tempted of God. For God cannot
be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man. But every
man is tempted, that is, solicited to evil, when he is drawn away
of his own lust and enticed. The Lord Jesus was tempted, that
is, He was tested, But he could not have been drawn away unto
his own lust, for he had none. He is the holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, Lord Jesus Christ. There was nothing in
him to answer. You might say, well, how could
that be attesting then? Let me try to give an example,
and I know it's going to be poor. But think about this. Suppose
you had a bar made out of a metal that it could not be bent with,
let's say, under 10,000 power, 10,000 units of power. And you gave that to this man
who is a bodybuilder. I mean, he's just, his muscles
are... But still, now he could test
that bar. But he could not bend the bar. The Lord Jesus Christ, because
He is God in the flesh, He could not be tempted with evil in the
sense of being solicited to evil. He was tested. He was tested. And that's one of the things,
the Lord willing, we will see that is so important for us to
understand today. that he was tested, not tempted
to do evil. I have three parts to the message.
The first part, I want us to look at lessons by observing
what Mark and Luke add to Matthew's record. Now, John, of course,
John's emphasis, the Gospel of John, you realize this, His emphasis
is upon the deity of Christ. His gospel begins, in the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,
and the Word became flesh. He doesn't record this testing,
because his emphasis is on upon the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. You never read in the Old Testament
one time that God was tempted, that God was tested. It was just as He increased in
stature. Now God cannot increase, we recognize
that. But as the God-Man, as He was
born, as He came into this world just as a baby and grows up,
He increases in stature. God doesn't increase, he's the
same, but the physical, the humanity increases. And think about this,
if the Lord Jesus Christ had not been born as an infant, going
through childhood and the teenage years and early adulthood and
being 30 years of age when he is baptized and enters into his
public ministry, If he had not experienced all of that, then
he could not be a faithful high priest who could be touched with
the feeling of the infirmities of those who are children, those
who are teenagers, those who are young adults. He experienced
that so that he might be a faithful. Sympathetic, caring, high priest
for all of his people, no matter what age we might be. But my
first point is lessons by observing what Mark and Luke add to Matthew's
account. First, Mark records this in two
verses. What we have here in Matthew
in 11 verses, Mark records it in two verses. But I want to
mention two things that Mark adds that we do not find here
in Matthew. First of all, he tells us that
the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. Where Matthew says,
then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness. Mark shows us that impulse, that
constraining power within him, the Spirit. thrusting him out. That's the way that word could
be translated. And Matthew tells us simply that
he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. And we see by
this that while Mark emphasizes he was thrust into this, Matthew
reminds us he did it voluntarily. And the reason I point this out
to us This is the way God leads you and He leads me. This is
the way God leads His children. First of all, it is God that
worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure and
then work out. Work out what He has worked in. He's thrust by the Spirit, but
he goes voluntarily. And when God leads us, always
according to His Word, through His Word, yes. But there's that
desire, there's that impulse within. And then we voluntarily go forth. I think about the call
to be a preacher. There's first of all that desire,
that strong impulse within. But a man doesn't preach against
his will. He has that impulse of the Spirit
of God, but then he goes willingly into the work. A second thing
that Mark tells us is that he was with the wild beast. that the Lord Jesus Christ was
with the wild beast. The place where the Lord was
tested was a wilderness in which there were wild beast. And when I read that and think
about that, I cannot help but think of the contrast. The contrast
between the places where the first Adam was tempted and this
wilderness in which the second Adam was tempted. Adam's place
where he was tempted was a beautiful garden. A beautiful garden upon
which the curse had not yet come. A beautiful garden, a place where
there was plenty of food and all of the animals there They
were not under the curse. They were not wild by nature. This parallel between the temptations
shows us our Savior where He's tested in a wilderness where
there was no food, where there were wild beasts, everything,
the environment. Let me put it like that. The
environment in which the first Adam was tested was every way
conducive to him obeying the Lord. Where the environment in
which the second Adam was tested, everything was contrary to the
flesh. Bishop Hall, he drew this parallel
like this. He said the first Adam was tempted
to carnal appetite by the forbidden fruit. to pride by the suggestion
of being like God, to covetousness in the ambitious desire of knowing
good and evil. Satan, having found all the motion
so successful with the first Adam in his innocent estate,
will now tread the same steps in his temptations of the second. The stones must be made bread. There's the motion to a carnal
appetite. The guard and attendance of angels
must be presumed on. There's the motion to pride.
The kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them must be offered. There is the covetousness and
ambition. Now, Luke, let me say two things
also that we learned by reading this account in Luke. First of
all, he adds what Matthew has here in verse 8 about showing
the Lord Jesus Christ the kingdoms of this world He uses a word
which shows us this happened in the shortest measurement of
time. You ever watch basketball on
television and they've got that shot clock counting down? I mean, boom, boom, boom, boom.
Just that fast, just one of those points. That's how fast this
was showed unto the Lord. It's akin to what we read in
1 Corinthians 15, that when the Lord comes again, those who are
alive and remain shall be changed and caught up together in the
twinkling of an eye, in just the shortest moment of time.
And then something else about Luke. He places the third temptation
here in Matthew, as the second temptation. But clearly, clearly
this was the order. And I say that because you notice
at the end of the third temptation here in Matthew, Satan was dismissed. He was sent a packing. Get the
hints. So this was the order. Now, the
second part of my message, I want us to look at some lessons by
observing the three temptations. First, to turn stones into bread
to satisfy his hunger. The devil came after he had fasted
for 40 days and 40 nights and was hungry, saying, If thou be
the Son of God. He had just heard, the voice
had just sounded from heaven. The Father said, this is, this
is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And so Satan now
comes and he says, if thou be the Son of God. If you're God's
Son, surely you wouldn't be here in this wilderness. Surely you
wouldn't be going through what you're experiencing now, this
hunger, if you are the son of God. Does He ever test you like
that? Are you ever tested like that?
If you were a son of God, surely these things that you call bad
couldn't happen to you. If you're one of God's children,
maybe to the devil's children, Those things might happen. What
I want us to see here is the way Satan works. There are several
things that we may learn from this. You notice he purposefully,
that is Satan, he purposefully does not mention the 40 days
and 40 nights in which he had fasted without hunger. Because notice what the scripture
says. And when he had fasted forty
days and forty nights, he was afterward and hungered. Now isn't that the way Satan
always works? In tempting Adam, the first Adam,
he didn't mention that he was in a garden with hundreds of
trees. I don't know how many trees.
Hundreds of trees. And he could eat from any or
all of those trees. But Satan doesn't mention that. Oh, no. He only points out that
one tree that God had forbid him to eat the fruit. Satan doesn't
point out to the Lord Jesus Christ that he had spent 40 days and
40 nights and somehow God had sustained him without hunger.
He doesn't mention that, does he? No, it's only once he's now
hungry that he says, cast or change, if you be the son of
God, cast, make these stones into bread. This is one of Satan's, one of
the devil's common ways to tempt us. He would have you, he would
have me to overlook the many mercies The many goodnesses,
kindnesses, so many things that God has given us. Things that
have been such a blessing and such a benefit. And he would
point out one thing, maybe that's unlawful, that would cause us
to complain and to find fault with God's providence. with God's
provisions. Now what was the testing for
the Lord Jesus? The testing was the devil would
have him distrust his father's providence in providing for him. He had just before spoke from
heaven saying, this is my beloved son. Will he now not supply his
needs? Will it be necessary now not
to depend upon your father? Can he not be trusted? Can he
not be relied upon to meet each and every one of your needs? That you must now make these,
turn these stones into bread. The Lord Jesus Christ would soon
turn water into wine. And he could easily turn these
stones into bread, but he would not do so. He who is the eternal
word of God answered the devil with his written word. And I want you to turn back with
me to Deuteronomy for just a moment. Keep your place here. We'll look
at the passage that our Lord quotes from. Deuteronomy chapter
8. Verses 2 and 3. And thou shalt
remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty
years in the wilderness, to humble thee, to prove thee, to know
what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments
or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered
thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna which thou knewest
not. Neither did thy fathers know
that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
the Lord doth man live. It was not forty days, but rather
forty years, that God led Israel through the wilderness in which
there was no food, They would have all died of starvation quickly
after going into the wilderness if God had not provided for them. And He did so. And you know in
the Scriptures, God has provided food for His creatures in a number
of different ways. Once He had ravens serve as waiters
to take food to His servants. Once he had one servant move
in with a widow woman who only had just a little meal in the
bottom of a barrel and a few drops of oil and a cruise, and
he fed Elijah and that widow woman and her son for two and
a half years. He fed these Israelites 40 years. Not 40 days, but 40 years. And our Lord quotes from this
passage of Scripture, which tells us that man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word which proceeds out of the mouth
of the Lord doth man live. You say, well, what does that
mean? Well, let me put it in a way I think all of us could
understand. You could have this room here
filled up with food. How many look like a warehouse
for one of these grocery stores? And if God doesn't give you breath
and life, you could choke on the abundance that you have. Your life today, my life today,
every day, all of the days of our lives, We live, we move,
we have our being in Him. Man shall not live by bread alone. The importance of the Word of
God. By nature, men place most importance
upon food, upon storing up for the future. And there's nothing
wrong, there's nothing wrong or storing up for a rainy day.
But at the same time, we recognize we're not going to live one day
longer than God gives us life. Our times are in his hands. And
I'm thankful, aren't you? I'm thankful that the times of
my family and myself are all in his hands. And He knows, He
knows what is best. Alright, the second testing,
to cast himself down from the temple. Verses 5 through 7. Then the devil taketh him up
into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple.
I believe that would be the rooftop. One of the highest places, I
believe, would be two hundred almost 300 feet from what I've
read. 300 feet in the air. "...and saith unto him, If thou
be the Son of God, cast thyself down. For it is written, He shall
give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they
shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against
a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written
again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. When you read this,
if you think about it for a few minutes, I'm sure you will think
like I did. I'm amazed and I wonder that
the Lord was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. But I'm filled with wonder and
amazement when I read here that the blessed Lord Jesus Christ
allowed that wicked, evil Satan to pick him up and carry him
to the top of the temple. And we see the subtlety of Satan. He now has a Bible under his
arm. He now is going to quote scripture,
saying that the Lord would trust God, trust his providence. He now will quote scripture and
have him cast himself from off the temple. As much as saying, you know,
You know that God has given His angels charge concerning you.
You know that. Then do this. Do this. Here you are 300 feet above ground
and the temple's filled with people. Just cast yourself off
and the angels, God's going to give His angels charge concerning
you. And when men see you come down,
everyone's going to see and acknowledge you're more. You're more than
a man. You're more than a man. A man
could not do that. Do it! God will take care of
you. And don't miss these two things
in this temptation. The devil always works the same. And God always works the same.
The devil lifts men up to cast them down. God casts men down
to lift them up. This is what the scripture says,
For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted. That's always Satan's way. And
when God In His providence, when you are lifted up in positions
and authority, wherever, however it might be, don't let your mind
get dizzy from the height. Be especially on guard for Satan
and his walls. And then a second lesson that
we should recognize, the devil could only do what the Lord allowed
him to do. He allowed him to pick him up
and carry him and place him on the top of that temple, but he
did not have the power to push the Lord off, to cast him off. You see, after everything is
said and done, the devil is still God's devil. God has him on a
chain. You say, The Scripture says he
goes about like a roaring lion. He does, no doubt about it. But let me tell you something,
he's just like that junkyard dog when he reaches the end of
the chain. That's as far as he can go. Now what was the testing here
to the Lord? Well, the devil would have him
presume on his father's care. And again, we see that the Lord
answered him with scripture, showing that the scriptures do
not contradict each other. Yes, it is true. We have this
wonderful promise. He had this promise. You have
this promise today. He will give his angels charge
over thee to keep thee in the way. And we thank God for the
ministry of angels. Scripture speaks about it in
Hebrews, doesn't it? Hebrews chapter one, I believe
it is, tells us that they are ministering spirits sent forth
to minister unto those who are the heirs of salvation. Yes,
the Lord had given this promise, but he also, he also said, thou
shalt not tempt. the Lord thy God." And what I
see here is the scripture is one. The scripture is one. How many people have been deceived
and been led astray by taking one scripture, and usually completely
out of context, and basing a whole doctrine on it, and maybe even
going out into eternity to face God, trusting in a misunderstanding
of the Word of God. The Scripture is one. It never
contradicts itself. Whenever you think you found
a contradiction in the Word of God, just have a bell go off
in your head. There's an answer. I may not
know it now. But there's an answer to this.
There is no contradiction. How could it be when all the
Word of God is the inspired Word of God? Has the same author,
God the Holy Spirit. All right, the third temptation
in verses 8 through 11. Again, the devil taketh him up
into an exceeding high mountain and showeth him all the kingdoms
of the world and the glory of them. And saith unto him, All
these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship
me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get
thee hence, Satan. For it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. How
the devil was able to do this, I cannot explain. As I pointed
out, it happened quickly. I know it's true. God declares
it. And my believing, it doesn't
make it true. It's true whether I believe it
or not. It's true whether you believe it or not. It's God's
Word. And somehow, in an instant, from a high mountain, the Lord
was able to see all the kingdoms and the glory of the kingdoms
of this world. What I see is the audacity of
the devil. the audacity of the devil. He who is a creature and has
nothing but what he is given promised to give to the Creator
all things. Can you imagine that? That passage
in Isaiah 14, I believe, refers to the devil and tells us that
this has always been his goal. This has always been his goal,
from his rebellion, his sin. I will be like the Most High
God. That's his goal. That's his goal,
to be worshipped. Yet, in that passage, even though
he says, I will be like the Most High, God says, thou shalt be
brought down to hell. He sent him away with another
scripture, thou shalt worship the Lord God and him only shalt
thou serve. Now what was attesting to the
Lord Jesus here? It was to bypass the cross and obtain all the glories of
the kingdoms of this world. They're all his. Today, they're
all his. As God, they've always been His. But the temptation was to bypass
the cross. And then all these things will
be yours. The third part of my message,
I have just a few lessons by observing God's purpose in this
temptation. First, it shows the Lord's true
humanity. He possessed a real human soul. He didn't just appear to be a
man, he was a man. A man. Number two, it shows that
he is not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of
our infirmities, but was in all points tempted, like as we are,
yet with the exception of sin. Yet without sin. Number three,
it shows the great conflict, the great conflict in which the
seed of the woman was to bruise the head of the serpent. We see in this great struggle
at the very beginning of his ministry how he promised to be
the deliverer and how the deliverer came off. in this testing, this
conflict with Satan. At the beginning of his ministry,
you see he's successful. At the end of his ministry, at
the cross, you see he's successful. He spoiled principalities. He did it here. He spoiled principalities,
the devil. But he certainly did it at the
cross. He spoiled principalities and
powers. He made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them. The devil, if you can just picture
this, he goes away with his tail tucked beneath his legs. He was beaten. He was defeated. He came to God's Holy Son and
found nothing in Him. Nothing that would respond to
solicitation to evil. I pray that the Lord would bless
this word to all of us here today. I know that because it is God's
word Some of us have been reading,
preaching, studying for a long time, but we'll never exhaust
the word of God. There's a number of lessons for
you and I in this passage of scripture. And remember, he is
a real enemy. I've known some people who profess
to be Christians and they make a joke out of the devil. I'm
not going to do that. I'm not going to do that. He
is a real being. He has power, but he doesn't
have all power. Thank God for that. Number 266.